Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Flatwounds on octave?

  1. #1

    Default Flatwounds on octave?

    It’s probably been discussed before, but has anyone tried flatwound strings on their octave? I have an arch top GOM.
    Teri LaMarco
    Hear my music on Spotify (and other streaming services)
    https://open.spotify.com/album/2XBuk...SV24bnkZ2uC-hw

  2. #2
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Fort Lauderdale, FL
    Posts
    3,859

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by Amandalyn View Post
    It’s probably been discussed before, but has anyone tried flatwound strings on their octave? I have an arch top GOM.
    I haven’t yet, but I’ve been tempted: http://www.emando.com/shop/strings8va.htm#flatwound
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
    2005 National RM-1
    2007 Hester A5
    2009 Passernig A5
    2015 Black A2-z
    2010 Black GBOM
    2017 Poe Scout
    2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
    2018 Vessel TM5
    2019 Hogan F5

  3. The following members say thank you to pheffernan for this post:


  4. #3

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    I have a custom set of flatwounds on my octave, a Crump oval hole 22.75" scale. I really like how they are quiet when sliding on the strings, and their feel. You can make your own set with singles of the D'Addario chrome steel guitar strings. Not sure if I would put flatwounds on an archtop, when I tried them on an f style mando, i took them off the next day, they couldn't drive the mandolin (the way i played it anyways!)
    Girouard Custom Studio A Oval
    P.W. Crump OM-III

  5. #4
    Registered User meow-n-dolin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    North Bend OR
    Posts
    365

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by Amandalyn View Post
    It’s probably been discussed before, but has anyone tried flatwound strings on their octave? I have an arch top GOM.
    I have the Eastman OM, and I will be trying some. I have used FWs on my mandos, my mandola, and my mandocellos. Generally, I prefer the FW on f-hole archtops, while on oval-hole archtops it's more of a toss-up. I suspect flatwounds would reduce the "twanginess" of the OM somewhat, but, in that case, I want the twangy sound.

    As far as pick noise, it seems to depend somewhat on picking style and upon how loud one plays. I would definitely give them a try. As the OP mentioned, emando.com has sets available.

  6. #5
    Registered User DougC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    1,875
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    I have a Pono 21 1/2" scale O.M. with flat 'medium' wound strings from emando.com
    It needed more tension on the G and E strings. So it has .54 .35 .24 .14
    The strings are actually D'Addario electric guitar 'chromes'.

    Lighter strings made the instrument 'twangy' like a bouzouki, almost to the point where it sounded horrible. (And the current set of strings will sound like a bouzouki if played hard). So tension is very important and one needs to spend some money on various tensions in order to find what works.

    BTW The instrument sounds beautiful when given a light touch, much like a Rosewood body 000 size Martin guitar. It is loud enough at that level. But it changes character to 'bouzuki like' when given some 'drive'. That's not the case with my Collings mandola - it sounds great at any level. I suppose the O.M. guitar shape is a big factor in this regard.
    Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile

  7. #6
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Fort Lauderdale, FL
    Posts
    3,859

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by DougC View Post
    I suppose the O.M. guitar shape is a big factor in this regard.
    I’d be more inclined to attribute the difference to the Pono’s flattop rather than archtop construction.
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
    2005 National RM-1
    2007 Hester A5
    2009 Passernig A5
    2015 Black A2-z
    2010 Black GBOM
    2017 Poe Scout
    2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
    2018 Vessel TM5
    2019 Hogan F5

  8. The following members say thank you to pheffernan for this post:

    DougC 

  9. #7
    Registered User DougC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    1,875
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by pheffernan View Post
    I’d be more inclined to attribute the difference to the Pono’s flattop rather than archtop construction.
    If this is the case. I'd like to try a flat top 'tear drop' (A mandolin) shaped O.M. I'm pretty sure a guitar shape sounds more like a guitar, arched or otherwise.
    Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile

  10. The following members say thank you to DougC for this post:


  11. #8
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Posts
    5,293

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    I tried TI guitar flatwounds once on my archtop Weber Yellowstone OM, but I didn't like them. They came off right away. The tone of this instrument is punchy but also a bit "dark," so the high frequency bite of phosphor bronze strings keeps it from sounding too muddy.

  12. #9
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Fort Lauderdale, FL
    Posts
    3,859

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by DougC View Post
    If this is the case. I'd like to try a flat top 'tear drop' (A mandolin) shaped O.M. I'm pretty sure a guitar shape sounds more like a guitar, arched or otherwise.
    I thought you described the tone as "bouzouki-like" when driven?
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
    2005 National RM-1
    2007 Hester A5
    2009 Passernig A5
    2015 Black A2-z
    2010 Black GBOM
    2017 Poe Scout
    2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
    2018 Vessel TM5
    2019 Hogan F5

  13. #10
    Registered User DougC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    1,875
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Quote Originally Posted by pheffernan View Post
    I thought you described the tone as "bouzouki-like" when driven?
    Sound is a difficult thing to describe. My second attempt would be 'a little guitar with jangly strings'. My wife, the violin teacher, says it sounds like a toy guitar. (ouch!)
    Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile

  14. #11
    Registered User Strabo's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    FloridaColorado
    Posts
    75

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    Not an OM, but I use Thomastik flat wound strings on my mandola for Bach. Very clear and accurate.

  15. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Hamburg, Pennsylvania
    Posts
    1,247

    Default Re: Flatwounds on octave?

    I have an archtop Northfield OM, a wonderful instrument with a 23” scale. If you have one, you are probably aware that if you want the tone Mike Marshall gets when he plays that Bach cello piece on YouTube, you have to have the right strings. The usual Octave Mandolin strings are too light. The sets sold by Northfield for the archtop are just right: 0.040 G, 0.026 D, 0.016 (unwound) A, 0.011 E. Great tone. But they are round wound, and the wound strings are noisy. Also, for me, the essence of playing this instrument is LOTS of slides and frequent use of the fourth finger in places where I normally use the third finger on my mandolin (as well, of course, as where I normally use the fourth finger on my mandolin). I found that those round wound strings were MUCH harder on my sliding fingers than are round round Monel strings on my mandolin. Thus, I sought out Flatwound strings, which I used on mandolins for years when I played swing and use on my guitars now.

    I bought a set of Thomastik-Infeld Mandola (Octave Mandolin) strings, but I failed to remember that 45 cm. is only about 18”, and the winding doesn’t continue all the way to the end, so I couldn’t use them. $80 down the drain. It seems that there aren’t any loop-end flatwound strings available unless e-Mando carries them (and it might!).

    Here’s what I did. I went to JustStrings.com, Single Strings, and found that D’Addario Chrome Flatwound electric guitar strings come in a wide variety of wound sizes. I bought strings in 0.040 Flatwound, 0.026 Flatwound, 0.20 Flatwound, and kept the unwound 0.011 strings I already had on. I LOVED the result. My fingers slid over the strings like butter, and the Flatwound strings didn’t have that annoying “new” brassiness that brass alloy strings have. They sounded much more balanced. I wasn’t sure about the 0.040 G strings, however, so I’ve just replaced them with 0.042 strings. I think these are even better, and the slightly higher tension is an improvement. These strings are $5 each, so with shipping and a couple single .011 strings, that’s $40 for a set! Still, half the price of Thomastiks, and they tend to last a year easy. If you paid $5,000 for a Northfield archtop OM, you owe it to your fingers to give this a try.

    Don’t try to substitute other sizes from prepared packs of guitar strings. The right size matters. I wasn’t sure, say, that a Flatwound 0.026 and a Flatwound 0.026 would be equivalent. I thought I might need, say, a 0.024 Flatwound because part was flattened off, but it seems they are equivalent. You could use an Unwound .016 A string, as Northfield does, but I like the slight extra bulk of the Flatwound A string, and 0.020 does seem to make up for that difference between wound and unwound.

  16. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to BlueMountain For This Useful Post:


Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •